James Reid-Cunningham

chief conservator, Boston Athenaeum

James Reid-Cunningham studied history and art history at Johns Hopkins University and Tufts University before beginning his career in book conservation at Harvard University. He studied bookbinding with Mark Esser at the North Bennet Street School in Boston, and is the President of the Guild of Book Workers. Formerly the Conservator of the Graduate School of Design, Harvard University, he is currently the Chief Conservator of the Boston Athenaeum, a private membership library founded in 1807. He is a Professional Associate of the American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works. He is an advisor to the bookbinding program at the North Bennet Street School, and in 2006, he received the Distinguished Alumni Award from NBSS.